Shards of Orichalcum
by Jupiter's Magic
Summary: How did Skyler end up in Doma? Why is Gurimo called a "germ"? Why is there talcum powder in the hair dryer? Find out in Shards of Orichalum. *prequel to No Ordinary Life*
1. Meet Skyler

_Hey guys! It's Jupie! :D Sooo, like I promised, here is the prequel to No Ordinary Life! I've been eager to do this for a while. So...I'll just get to the disclaimer since I'm so excited for you guys to read this story! _

_Disclaimer: I, Jupie, don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Paradius or the Orichalcos (...actually, I own the Seal of Orichalcos trading card...). And Kohaku no Hime is the beta for this story as well and I deeply love her for it! :D _

* * *

"Oy! 'as Master Dartz arrived yet?" Valon asked, walking into the conference room at Paradius. He had arrived fashionably late, as usual.

Gurimo scowled at him, while Alister simply continued shifting through his deck. The other three members of the group had been there for twenty minutes already; Valon had simply waved at them while they had been coming over on the motorcycles before veering off, clearly not planning on spending too much time in the corporate building.

It was Raphael who spoke. "You got lucky again, Valon. He should be coming any time now—and you shouldn't keep showing up late," he added sternly. "One of these days Dartz is going to punish you for being tardy."

"Yeah, yeah, but tha' day is not this one," Valon replied good-naturedly, grinning at the older man cheekily.

Dartz chose that moment to enter the conference room, catching the attention of the other men in the room and causing them to straighten. He raised an eyebrow at Valon and said, "Now that _all_ of you are here, I wanted to make a general announcement."

"Where's the Valentine woman?" asked Gurimo suddenly.

"She declined to come. As I hardly care what she does, however, I will not push her on the matter," came the careless reply.

"Besides, she's probably obsessing with her revenge plot against Wheeler again," Alister grumbled. "Good luck getting her here."

Valon coughed, the words, "look who's talkin'" mingling with the sound. Everyone ignored him.

"I called you here so that you could meet our newest member, who is joining us as of today," Dartz continued.

"Great. Another one?" Gurimo groaned. He gestured to the three behind him. "Not to complain, Master, but we already have enough here as it is. We have a girly girl, the annoying Australian brat—"

"Oy! Who ya calling a brat, you git?"

"—and that's not counting the other two. Not to complain too much to you, Master, but I already have to keep an eye on what is essentially a zoo. What more do we need?"

"Someone to put you in your place, old man," a female voice announced coolly, and from behind Dartz stepped a new girl.

She had mid-length brown hair and hazel eyes; her outfit consisted of a green plaid mini skirt and a dark green corset. Several silver bands decorated her upper arms and she was wearing rings on her fingers. She also had the Orichalcos pendant around her neck, as well as two shards that had been made into earrings.

Valon snickered. "Nice comeback to Germy," he said, shooting a friendly grin to the newcomer.

Raphael raised an eyebrow at her but declined to comment. Alister rolled his eyes and continued shuffling through his deck, already bored.

"It's Gurimo, you annoying little—"

"Enough." Dartz ordered, and the man instantly bit back the insult. "I want you all to meet Miss Skyler Whitlock."

"Pleasure to meet you three," she said, giving Raphael, Alister, and Valon a mock curtsy. She pointedly turned her back on Gurimo, causing the older man to bristle.

"It's not polite to be rude to an elder," growled Gurimo, indignant that she had ignored him.

"I'm not being rude. You're just beneath my notice," she smirked.

If he had not been angry before, he was certainly angry now; if it was possible, there would be steam coming out of his ears. "Why you little—!"

"Did you guys hear something?" she asked innocently, directing this comment at the other three bikers. "I swear, it sounded just like a little germ talking, but I don't see anything—then again, you can't exactly see a germ, can you?"

Even Alister was starting to look amused at this point, looking up and over at her with some interest.

Gurimo's eyes narrowed and his face flushed in outrage. "You—"

"Enough!" Dartz said again, though it was much sharper. "I appreciate the entertainment you both are offering, but for now, Gurimo, you will need to withdraw and focus on your next assignment. I will deal with our recruit."

The monocled man bowed to Dartz stiffly and after glaring at Skyler he stormed from the room, leaving behind a loudly laughing Valon and a visibly amused Alister.

"Alister, Valon. You're free to go as well," their leader said, waving a dismissive hand.

"I like tha' little lady," Valon said to Alister as they followed after Gurimo. "She's got some spunk t' 'er."

Dartz waited until both of the other bikers vanished before redirecting his attention to Raphael and Skyler. She had been studying the older man with interest, while the blond had been dutifully ignoring her, his gaze focused entirely on Dartz.

"Raphael, please show Miss Skyler around Paradius. I would have Alister or Gurimo do so, but I do believe they have enough on their minds and would not be as thorough," he said calmly, turning his back on them both. "Be sure to include her temporary quarters here on your tour."

Skyler snorted. She of course knew the real reason—she would not get along with either Alister or Gurimo, so she had been stuck with the one who would not try to throttle her.

Raphael dipped his head in acquiescence before grabbing her arm and leading her out of the hall. "Let's go," he said gruffly.

"Don't touch me!" she exclaimed, getting out of his grasp (which, she noted in surprise, had not been that difficult to do—his grip had been firm but not to the point it would leave bruises behind). "I don't need to be dragged around by you. I can find my room by myself," she continued.

"All right then," he said wryly, gesturing down the expansive passageway. "Ladies first."

Skyler huffed but started down the hallway, turning the corner before he could catch up. He paused in the middle of the hallway, folding his arms over his chest and waiting patiently.

"Three…two…one…" he counted softly, and when he said "one" Skyler rounded the corner again. He raised an eyebrow and asked with mock politeness, "Having trouble?"

"Shut up," she growled, storming past him, walking down the other side of the hallway.

Raphael fought not to laugh. "You have to go up a floor—"

"I don't need your help!" she snapped over her shoulder.

"She seems nice," Alister said sarcastically, approaching the blond.

The blond sighed as he watched the girl walk pass the elevator and towards the end of the hall. He'd let her wander around for now, but he would make certain she did not end up lost in the large building.

* * *

_So now the guys have met Skyler; she's not so sweet now, is she? ;-)_

_Reviews are Loved and Appreciated! :-)_

_Also, if you havent checked out "No Ordinary Life, please do and review that too. _

_Jupie is signing off! Peace! _


	2. Chicken Bouillon and Flour

_Hey guys! Sorry for the long disappearance! Been busy with school and what not. Here is the second chapter. Kok betaed this and I love her for it. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own!_

* * *

The following morning found Alister in the kitchen; while there was a larger kitchen on the first floor of Paradius there was a smaller one on their floor designed specifically to cater to Dartz's Swordsmen. Alister preferred this smaller kitchen, as he had never been fond of large spaces and it saved him a trip down the elevator to make breakfast.

Currently Alister was stirring eggs in a frying pan and keeping an eye on the coffeepot. He heard movement just outside the kitchen and he reached for the coffeepot to pour a cup of coffee—he knew who was coming down the hallway. "You're going to walk into the wall again," he called, not turning around.

There was a short pause, and then a gruff but sleepy voice entered the room. "Thanks for that."

Alister shrugged, turning to hand the coffee mug to the taller blond. "Sleep well?"

Raphael gratefully took the cup of coffee from the redhead's hands. "Understatement of the year," he grumbled, moving over to the table to read the newspaper. "Valon was listening to his music again—and he felt the need to blast it almost full volume at two in the morning."

Alister shrugged but did not reply. He had moved out of his room a short time ago (though he had refrained from telling Valon about this move). Valon was a noisy and mischievous neighbor to have, and his music listening habits were one of many reasons Alister had changed rooms. He heard more footsteps and he muttered, "Speak of the devil and he appears."

"Mornin', fellas," Valon announced, and he rounded the corner with a bounce in his step.

Raphael did not look away from the newspaper, though he grunted in greeting. He was probably still annoyed at Valon for playing his music so loud.

"And a 'ergh' t' you too, Raph," Valon replied cheerfully. His eyes wandered to Alister and he did a double take, blinking rapidly in surprise. "You're not white."

Alister paused at the comment, then gave a mocking bow. "You got me. My skin's a cream color, not a true white. I've been lying for years because I didn't think anyone would accept the truth."

"No, I mean—'ow did you—tha' doesn' make sense!"

Raphael finally looked up at Valon with a frown, the newspaper lowering in his hands. "What are you talking about Valon?"

Before Valon could explain himself a girl's shriek echoed from down the hall, starting the three men; Raphael jumped violently enough to jostle his coffee mug, while Alister nearly lost some of the scrambled eggs in the frying pan. Valon flinched and seemed to deflate where he stood.

"Was that Mai?" Raphael asked, grimacing at the still warm coffee on his hand. He reached for a napkin and wiped the liquid off his skin.

Alister shook his head. "I didn't hear a harpy screeching just now. That had to be Skyler," he replied flatly, and Valon scowled at the jibe directed at Mai. Alister turned his gaze to Valon and said, "What did you do?"

"Wha' makes you think I did somethin'?" Valon said defensively, holding his hands up.

"You just told me I wasn't white. That's reason enough."

Valon grimaced, then said, "I put flour in your 'airdryer again."

Alister did not have a chance to respond to that, for at that moment Skyler—clothed in a bathrobe and wearing slippers—stalked into the room. Her face and hair was covered with flour, some of it clinging in clumps to her skin; her hair was still wet and even through the flour coating her face they could see her glare.

"Which one of you idiots did this?" she hissed, pointing to her face.

One of Alister's eyebrows arched and he looked over at Raphael. "I don't usually answer to 'idiot," he commented, ignoring Skyler entirely. "I mean, most people call me by name."

"Really? I'll admit to responding to 'hey you' on occasion, but I think I'm like you. I like hearing my name," Raphael replied, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Don't be cute with me. I've been doused in flour and one of you morons thought it was doubly hilarious to put _chicken bouillon_ in the showerhead. Now I smell like chicken," she snarled, her eyes flashing as she held up the remains of a bouillon cube in between her fingertips. Noticing Valon's suddenly guilty demeanor, she stormed over to the Australian and gestured to herself. "Is there any particular reason you thought _this_ to be funny?"

"'ey now, love, it wasn' meant f'r you," he replied hastily. "I was tryin' t' get Alister with tha' prank…I mean, I even put the flour in 'is 'airdryer. My question to you is why the 'eck you're usin' Alister's stuff anyways. 'e gets right cranky if you touch 'is things."

Raphael chose this moment to speak up. "Valon, Alister's quarters are over by your room. He's been there for a couple days now. Besides, Master Dartz put Skyler in Alister's old room because then she could share bathrooms with Mai."

Valon stared at Raphael in stunned disbelief, and then he rounded on Alister. "Why am I the last t' know this?" he said incredulously.

"Hmm, let me think on that a second. I don't remember what my reason was…oh yeah, I remember. I enjoy not having to check my room for booby-traps," the redhead replied crossly.

Valon muttered under his breath and made to leave the kitchen, but as he passed Skyler he quailed under her glare and he left the room hastily. Skyler shot him a dirty look, then directed it at the other two men in the room.

"If either of you had anything to do with this prank I'll be paying you both another visit," she threatened before she left the room. "As for Valon, he's going to learn that payback is a bitch."

Raphael rolled his eyes once she left. "Great, just what I wanted—it was bad enough with Mai, now we have another one," he said flatly.

He noticed the baleful glare Alister was directing at him and sighed. "What's wrong with you?"

"You _had _to tell Valon I was in the same hallway as he was," he grumbled. "I was just starting to enjoy not locking my bedroom door."

* * *

"Stupid jerks," Skye muttered as she walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The white powder was stuck to her brown locks, practically caked on at this point. It would take _ages_ to get the gunk out of her hair—and that was not even counting the smell coming off of her.

"Oh hon, that's such a terrible look for you."

Skyler whirled around at the woman's voice, her eyes drawn to the woman standing in the doorway. Her long blonde hair fell in tumbling curls to the small of her back, and a pair of violet eyes studied her with a critical gaze; even though she was wearing a dark purple robe and a pair of slippers she was still quite beautiful.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Mai Valentine," she replied, stepping into the bathroom. "You must be the new girl I heard about."

Skyler scowled at her, recognizing the name. "And you didn't bother meeting me yesterday?"

"I'm not here to make friends," Mai retorted. "Don't get in my way and we'll be just fine."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," came Skyler's annoyed reply.

Mai smirked. "So, Flour Girl, I'm guessing Valon got to you with the 'flour in the hairdryer' prank?" she asked, gesturing to the flour in her hair.

"My name's Skyler," she snapped. "And yeah, Valon was behind this. He also put a bouillon cube in the showerhead."

"That explains the smell," muttered Mai, before she stepped into the bathroom. "Don't worry, hon. I'll help—I don't want friends, but I can't stand to see a fellow woman suffer. I've got just the thing to get that smell out."

Mai stepped past her, and after collecting Skyler's shampoo and body wash motioned for the girl to follow her. "We'll hijack the other spare bathroom," she explained. "It's not the first time I've been on the wrong end of a Valon prank and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know where it is."

Fifteen minutes later Skyler's hair and face was flour free, her brown hair styled in gently falling waves, and the smell of chicken bouillon had been replaced by one of Mai's perfumes; the woman had chosen a subtle, lasting, sweet smelling scent for Skyler, one that would not mix with the remnants of the bouillon smell.

While Skyler was not certain whether or not she really liked Mai she had to admit that the other woman had done a spectacular job, and she grudgingly thanked Mai before leaving the bathroom and returning to her quarters.

First she would get dressed, she decided as she entered her room. Once she was done dressing, though, it was payback time.

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_Review please!?_


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